Practicing the Method

Shen Hui noticed that ever since he began cultivating the Wood Nurturing Technique, the short hair on his head had been growing at an alarming rate.

At first, he paid it no mind, simply taking it as an ordinary change brought on by cultivation.

It wasn't until one day, when he caught his reflection in a basin of clear water, that he realized he could already tie his hair into a small wolf-tail ponytail.

He pinched the ends of the strands and rubbed them between his fingers, unable to help but chuckle.

Could this Wood Nurturing Technique actually be a growth-accelerating technique?

But aside from his hair, he did feel that his body had become much lighter and more agile than before.

It wasn't the kind of strength that came from a sharp, angular head and a body full of rippling muscles, but rather a nimbleness—walking without tiring, climbing mountains without panting.

In the past, going up and down the mountain once would require him to rest two or three times. Now, he could make the entire trip in one go without his breath even faltering.

This was probably the effect of wood qi "nourishing vitality."

These past few days had been quite peaceful for him.

Jinghui no longer came to pester him, and Third Senior Brother was busy organizing his ever-thickening collection of notes, burying his head in his work all day, writing tirelessly.

Shen Hui was happy to have the freedom, spending his days practicing techniques, and his life felt quite fulfilling.

But he was well aware of the time.

Counting from now, he had at most two or three months before he and his master would descend the mountain. And since traveling down the mountain was a form of training, it would inevitably involve fighting.

With his current level of cultivation, hoping to break through to the next realm in just a few months was pure wishful thinking.

However, if he could fully learn the Lesser Five Elements Art before descending, then no matter what he encountered, he would have a few more methods to deal with enemies.

Now, his fire-element technique had reached minor success, and his wood-element technique had just begun. The remaining three—metal, water, and earth—he needed to hurry up with.

That afternoon, he sat cross-legged on his bed and summoned the Parchment Interface.

[Dao Xing]: 391

"I should still try it myself first."

He began to cultivate according to the silk scroll's instructions, closing his eyes and looking inward, sensing for a trace of metal qi.

Metal: hard, sharp, and dominant in killing.

He imagined the feeling of a sword being drawn from its sheath, imagined the aura of a blade baring its edge...

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes, having gained nothing.

"Forget it, I'll just honestly use Deep Blue Point Allocation."

With a thought, the numbers on the interface flickered.

[Consume 100 Dao Xing points to learn Lesser Five Elements Art · Control Water Chapter (Beginner)?]

[Consume 100 Dao Xing points to learn Lesser Five Elements Art · Sharp Gold Chapter (Beginner)?]

[Consume 100 Dao Xing points to learn Lesser Five Elements Art · Transform Earth Chapter (Beginner)?]

Three hundred points vanished in an instant, transforming into three clear streams that surged into his body.

First was water.

A cool, refreshing qi emerged from his kidneys, flowing like a babbling brook, like a gentle spring rain. Wherever it passed, heat and dryness vanished.

Next was metal.

A sharp, piercing qi stabbed in from between his brows, like a sword drawn from its sheath, like the clashing of metal and stone. His whole body tensed, his spine straightening unconsciously, and a faint sharpness flickered in his eyes as they opened and closed.

Finally was earth.

A heavy, thick qi surged up from the soles of his feet, as steady as a mountain range, as boundless as the great earth. His entire body sank downward, as if taking root in the bed board, stable to an astonishing degree.

The three streams of qi circulated within him for a moment before gradually calming down.

Shen Hui opened his eyes and looked down at the interface.

[Control Water Chapter (Beginner)]

[Annotation]: To cultivate this technique, one must often stay near bodies of water, to resonate with the soft, yielding nature of water.

[Effects]:

Beginner: Can gather qi to form water, condense water into ice, walk atop waves, and stand on ripples.

Minor Success: Can seal water veins, control water into threads, stir up wind and waves, and cause unceasing floods.

Major Success: Can perceive water essence, summon clouds and rain, split rivers and sever seas, and bring snow in June.

[Sharp Gold Chapter (Beginner)]

[Annotation]: To cultivate this technique, one must often stay near weapons and blades, to align with the sharp, cutting path of metal.

[Effects]:

Beginner: Can exhale qi to form a sword, piercing through metal and stone.

Minor Success: Can become impervious to blades and spears, and break weapons with bare hands.

Major Success: Can turn stone to gold, turn the ground to steel, become indestructible, and be invincible against all.

[Transform Earth Chapter (Beginner)]

[Annotation]: To cultivate this art, one must dwell in the mountains and wilds, to align with the heavy virtue of the earth element.

[Effects]:

Beginner: Can lift earth into walls, shake the ground like water, turn earth to stone, and stone to earth.

Minor Achievement: Can turn stone into soldiers, sit upon a mountain as a god, pass through walls and burrow into the ground, with boundless strength.

Major Achievement: Can raise mountains and sink valleys, split the earth into chasms.

Shen Hui read line by line, his eyes growing wider and wider.

At the beginner stage, he could already breathe out a sword, tread the waves, and lift earth into walls. If he trained all of this to the highest depths, what would that be like?

When his master had said that the Lesser Five Elements Art, cultivated to a high level, possessed immense power and was unmatched in combat, it turned out to be true, not a single word exaggerated.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

The snow in the courtyard had already melted, the ground damp, exuding a faint breath of spring.

On the branches of that old locust tree, the tender buds had grown a bit larger than a few days ago, looking pleasing to the eye.

His mind stirred slightly, and his right hand formed a seal.

A surge of energy rose from his throat, and he opened his mouth to exhale.

A white streak shot out, swift as an arrow, and with a "chi" sound, it pierced through the wooden stake in the courtyard.

The stake now had a finger-thick hole, clear through from front to back, its edges smooth as if carved.

He then formed the Control Water Incantation and beckoned toward the puddle of water in the corner of the courtyard.

The puddle, as if lifted by an invisible hand, slowly rose into the air, condensing into a fist-sized water ball that hovered there, spinning gently.

Sunlight shone through it, refracting into tiny specks of light that cast rippling shadows on the wall.

With another thought, the water ball instantly froze into an ice ball, falling to the ground with a "smack," rolling a few times and leaving a shallow trail in the muddy earth.

He then formed the Transform Earth Incantation and pointed at the bluestone slab on the ground.

The bluestone seemed to soften, its edges sagging and flowing down like mud, turning into a puddle of sludge.

He pointed again, and the sludge slowly solidified, reverting to bluestone, though its shape was twisted and misshapen.

Shen Hui withdrew his hand seals, stood by the window, and let out a long breath.

All five elements were present.

Though four of the arts were only at the beginner stage, below the Foundation Establishment realm, there were likely few who could surpass him.

In the days that followed, Shen Hui focused without distraction.

In the mornings, he sat in meditation within the hot spring to refine his qi, and in the afternoons, he practiced the newly learned spells.

The Fire Art had reached minor achievement, and he could manipulate it with ease.

But the other newly acquired arts required hard work to use smoothly.

The Control Water Art made it easy to gather qi into water, but forming it into ice blades always fell short of the mark.

He stood in the courtyard, repeatedly attempting with the melted snow puddles.

At first, the ice blades he formed were crooked and uneven in thickness, some shattering into ice shards with a "crack" before they even took shape.

He wasn't in a hurry; he froze them, shattered them, and froze them again, practicing over and over for about ten days.

Gradually, the ice blades became more regular and sharper.

In the end, with a single thought, the puddle water rose into the air, condensing into seven or eight foot-long ice spikes that hung neatly before him, gleaming with a cold light under the sun.

He waved his hand, and the ice spikes shot out, embedding themselves into the courtyard wall, sinking three inches into the brick.

Next came the Sharp Gold Method.

The Sharp Gold Art breathed out a sword, piercing through a wooden stake with ease.

This art was extremely taxing on the spirit; after one sword was exhaled, he had to rest for a few breaths before releasing a second.

If he forced it, the second sword would be weak and ineffective.

There was no way around this, except by raising his cultivation level.

So he tried a different approach.

Since he couldn't fire continuously, he simply wouldn't fire.

He condensed that sharp, fierce qi without releasing it, attaching it to the edge of his palm. He raised his hand and lightly slashed at a small tree in the mountains.

"Crack," a thumb-thick branch snapped off cleanly, the cut as smooth as if carved.

He froze for a moment, then grinned.

This method was good.

No need to exhale, no need to gather power, he could use it at will.

Though not as sharp as Sword Qi, it excelled in concealment and endurance.

When grappling with an opponent at close range, a single raised hand and sweep could sever their weapon and strike their vital points.

He tried coating his fingertips with it as well; his fingers became like steel claws, and with a light scratch, they left five deep gouges in the bluestone.

The progress with the Transform Earth Incantation was similar.

Raising a wall of earth required only a thought, but the wall was loose and crumbly, collapsing at the slightest breeze.

He tried compacting the earthen wall, then attempted to form a layer of stone skin over its surface.

After several attempts, it was indeed much sturdier. Though still far from solid, it was enough to block a few ordinary beasts.

He then pondered combining the earth technique with the wind technique.

First, he formed the Transform Earth Incantation to stir up dust, then he formed the Wind-Bearing Incantation to billow his sleeves with wind.

The dust, swept up by the gale, surged forward in a sky-blanketing wave, more than enough to blind an opponent's eyes.

He stood there with his eyes closed, thinking that if he used this move in a duel, while his opponent was busy rubbing their eyes, he could seize the upper hand.

These newly devised applications were not in any book, nor had his master taught them. Some were effective, some were not. Some looked flashy but were actually useless, while others seemed utterly ordinary yet could turn the tide of battle with surprise.

With such diligent, unceasing practice, after a month, Shen Hui's three spells had all grown considerably more polished, to the point where he could use them with effortless ease.

But Shen Hui knew in his heart.

To elevate these beginner spells to Minor Completion, each one required a thousand points.

Now, with his Dao Xing completely empty, relying solely on the ten points he accumulated from daily meditation, it would take him nearly a year to gather the three thousand points.

He sighed.

He would have to wait until after Foundation Establishment.

By then, the daily cap on accumulated points would surely be higher, and gathering them would be faster.

However...

He suddenly recalled the incident with the poisonous mushroom last time.

That thing, by a twist of fate, had pushed his Fire Technique straight to Minor Completion. If he ate one again, could it also benefit his other techniques?

This thought circled in his mind once before he quickly suppressed it.

Once was enough.

He had no desire to experience that half-dead feeling a second time.